Climate Change: All candidates for public office need to work on global warming

Thank you for your coverage of the People’s Climate March in New York, as well as the thousands of rallies held around the world [“Worldwide rallies call for action now on climate change,” Nation & World, Sept. 21]. People from all parts of the country and around the world are seeing the effects of climate change, and realize that we must act now to prevent further disruption of our way of life.

We’ve been slow to act, for fear that it would ruin our economy. Fortunately that is far from the truth. A “carbon rebate” would be a boost to our economy, putting cash in the pockets of all households, from the receipts of fees placed on the extraction and importation of fossil fuels. This would spur local economies as a general stimulus, while steering investment into the renewable-energy sector. A border tariff on the carbon equivalent of imports would encourage other countries to place a similar fee on their own carbon emissions.

We can fix this climate disruption without harming our economy. Citizens Climate Lobby is proposing carbon fee and dividend legislation at the federal level. Let’s make sure that all candidates for public office are willing to work toward a solution to global warming. We may not get another chance.

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